John'Verse: Finding Peace
by Stolen Childe
Summary: Dean wants to make a life changing decision and needs Castiel's and Sam's input to do so. Story Three in my John'Verse follows "The Hourglass Empties" and "Weathering the Storm"  vanilla slash .


**Title: **Finding Peace

**Author:** Stolen Childe

**Disclaimer:** Most of the boys don't belong to me, I'm just burrowing them for a while.

**Rating:** PG

**Warnings:** Domesticity, sap, fluff, kid!fic, vanilla slash, future!fic

**Pairing/Characters:** Dean/Castiel, Sam, John (child OC)

**Genre:** gen, slash

**Summary:** Dean wants to make a life changing decision and needs Castiel's and Sam's input to do so.

**Author's Notes:** Story Three in my Hourglass'Verse, this one occurs when John is four-going-on-five.

**Finding Peace**

As Dean entered their motel room returning from a quick grocery run, he wondered with a pang if people were they to know fully about his life, if they would think he were a bad father.

He knew his mother would be disappointed, the woman who fought tooth and nail, yet still failed, to keep her children out of this life now had a grandchild in it as well. And if Dean were to go back and ask his past self what he thought of it he'd probably receive a good solid clock in the jaw in answer.

When Dean noticed his son and angel sitting cross-legged on the floor on that spartan, bland carpeting that had been the kid's life basically since he came into being the pang turned into an ache.

Very quietly Dean set down his bags and moved into the room. He sat on the bed closest to the door and watched the two most important people in his life.

They were both staring very intently at a small white feather resting on the carpet. Then just like that the feather began to float and dance in mid-air, flitting around as if it were tied to a string. Before it came very gently to rest once more.

"There, did you see? It can be done," Castiel said gently. "These abilities are within you my son. Try it for me."

John nodded and swallowed nervously, focusing on the feather, furrowing his small brow, he waited only a few seconds, exercising the typical Winchester patience, "I can't!"

"John, give it time. Please try again. Try not to think with your mind. Think of it as a natural extension of your body... As if you were reaching out and touching but not actually," Castiel said with infinite patience. "I have witnessed you accomplish great feats in your few years, I have complete faith in you."

Dean held his breath on his son's behalf as he watched with anxious excitement as the boy tried again.

Dean wasn't sure at first, but he thought he saw the feather twitch. Then very suddenly the feather lifted off the ground and began twirling madly in mid-air. John let out a happy little squeal and jumped to his feet. The feather leapt higher as well and as if spurned on by John's excitement flew and danced in wide zigzags and circles around the room. John turned with the feather and finally caught sight of Dean and ran to him throwing his arm around him with such force the two tumbled backwards on the bed.

"Dad! Did you see?"

"I sure did Kiddo!" Dean replied, his voice choked with a combination of amazement, awe and most of all pride.

Castiel came over and touched a hand gently to their child's head, "Congratulations my son. We're both very proud of you."

John grinned up at his father.

The pang struck Dean again and he physically winced, Castiel gave him a look of concern but Dean just smiled slightly and minutely shook his head. _Later_.

John was growing up so fast, he was learning so quickly and if he wasn't just the smartest kid Dean had ever met then he'd eat the Impala. But with that realization, also came the realization that John was turning five this year. Five meant school and school really preferred if their students had permanent addresses and at least one reliable parent. Not that Dean or Cas were unreliable but what they did, who they were may not come across that way to supposedly objective eyes.

"Hey John," Dean began when his son looked up he continued, "Why don't you go over to the couch and practice your angel mojo, okay? Earplugs, Buddy."

'Earplugs' was the adapted Winchester word for Adult Business and John knew that he was not to get involved. John nodded, but did give out a little beleaguered sigh before grabbing Mr. Cat and scrambling off the bed. He took his feather, stared at it for twenty seconds before picking up his Nintendo and began to play the handheld game. Dean could hardly keep track of what phase in the console's evolution they were at… Sure as hell had come a long way from his old beaten up NES that his dad had found in a yard sale. Dean smiled fondly at the memories of him and Sam trying to beat each other at Super Mario Bros. when they were kids. Sam always picked Luigi, maybe it was foreshadowing… Maybe Sam just liked the colour green.

Dean caught Cas staring at him with his characteristic head tilt that still had remained after all these years of human socialization and Dean reached up to brush a thumb against his angel's lower lip. _No worries_. Cas nodded and watched as Dean walked over to the wall behind the kitchenette counter and wrapped at it with his knuckles.

"Yo Sammy," Dean called through.

"Yeah?" Sam's muffled voice came back across.

"Earplugs!" Dean yelled in return.

In seconds Sam was coming through the door of their room he had a faintly worried expression on his face and Dean sent him a reassuring grin. _Not life or death_. Sam nodded.

"What's up?" his little brother asked casually sliding into one of the rickety kitchenette chairs his long legs sprawled beside and under the table.

Dean sat as well but Cas went over to lean (without looking like he was leaning) against the kitchen sink. Dean just shook his head fondly, Cas was still Cas.

"I dunno," Dean shrugged, "I guess I'm just realizing we can't do this forever, yanno? I mean if Mom knew that we were hunting with John around, dragging the kid all over the place I think she'd try to ground us… or something way scarier. She was a badass."

Sam smiled, "Yeah, she was amazing."

"What would you like to do Dean? Cease hunting?" Castiel asked, not sharply or snidely, just curious.

"Nah, we can't do that," Dean shrugged. "I just thought… maybe we could pick and choose a little more, like other hunters do. I mean there're not many of them who go road-tripping like we do all the time. It's just the way Dad showed us because he was chasing down Yellow-Eyes all the time. They have families and lives and… homes."

"Homes?" Sam blinked. "You mean you want to…?"

"Yeah, settle down," Dean nodded, he directed his gaze towards Cas. "John's gonna need to start school soon, I mean between the three of us homeschool wouldn't be a problem but it might be nice if he could… stay in one place, make friends, like we didn't get the chance to. I guess I just wanna know what you guys think."

"Dean… it's a great thought, but we can't exactly buy a house with a stolen credit card and there's no way we'll be getting a mortgage… I just, I don't know if…" Sam didn't want to finish his thought, he didn't want to dash his brother's dreams of long desired normalcy. House, wife (angel in this case) and kid. Mowing the grass and playing Fantasy Baseball with the neighbours.

Dean had tried it with Lisa, had been happy for a while but their real life had intruded. Sam was just afraid that it would happen again.

"I know what you're thinking Sam," Dean said. "It didn't work before because I was trying too hard to be normal. I'm not saying we're gonna stop hunting, we'll just you know… have a home that's not made of leather and steel. Cas?" Dean looked pleadingly over to the angel.

Castiel remained silent for a time, searching Dean's gaze in that way onlookers always found uncomfortable, as if they were intruding on an intensely personal moment. In a way that still unsettled Sam a little at times and he'd had seven years to get used to it. Castiel approached Dean and in one of his incredibly sweet moments, knelt before the older Winchester placing his hands on Dean's knees.

"Dean, do you want this, fully and truly with all your heart?" Castiel asked gently. He already knew the answer, but he always asked anyway. Sam knew it too, he looked over at John playing happily in the corner and understood why easily.

"You, Sam, John and me, all happy and under one roof in domestic bliss?" Dean asked. "Scares the hell outta me Cas, yeah, but I think… I think we need to do this. For John, give him what none of us ever had, yanno? So yeah, yeah I wanna do this, we might be shit at it, but I wanna do it."

Castiel nodded then, "You know I only ever want what makes you happy Dean." Dean smiled and cupped Castiel's jaw, resisting the urge to kiss him in order to save Sam his lunch.

"Sammy?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged, "Why not? Just know though, there's no way in hell I'm mowing the lawn."

Dean grinned, thought the brat deserved it, and planted a kiss on Castiel's startled lips.

"Ah man," Sam groused.

Dean looked over at John, thought of him having friends and birthday parties and playing sports and all the other things kids were supposed to do and his heart felt lighter. Yeah it would be hard, yeah, they would have to be careful. But they were Team Free Will after all, even after the ups and downs and missteps, Dean knew from experience that they could handle anything… Even suburbia.

…Dean hoped.

**End**


End file.
